Seb Project

Sebastian Carrie-Wilson, 20138312 Rotary Sensors
Design and Manufacture of Rotary Damper Position

Sensors for the UWAM 2011 F-SAE Race Car

Sebastian Carrie-Wilson
20138312
School of Mechanical and Chemical Engineering, University of Western Australia

Supervisor: Angus Tavner
School of Mechanical and Chemical Engineering, University of Western Australia

MECH3402 Final Report
School of Mechanical and Chemical Engineering
University of Western Australia

Submitted: 11th November 2010


2.2 Project Summary

This report presents a design for a set of rotary damper position sensors to be integrated into
the existing data acquisition system for the University of Western Australia Motor-sport
(UWAM) teams Formula Society of Automotive Engineers (FSAE) race vehicle. The damper
positions need to be known to observe part of the vehicles behaviour in dynamic race
conditions and to aid the vehicle dynamics team in configuring the best suspension settings.
To achieve the optimal configuration, team members need to interpret reliable and accurate
data from the car's array of sensors. Therefore the sensors have been designed to be; simple to
attach, position and remove, able to endure the use and servicing of the car, significantly less
costly than commercially available sensors and able to give accurate reading of torsion bar
rotation. In justifying the design choice, designs are compared to commercially available
sensors and other potential sensing methods.

The general design approach was to investigate different measurement systems and
implementations to inform the choice of design concept. The design work begins around the
selected sensor. Starting with designing its housing, then an attachment part, positioning
method, and the manufacturing method of each. Various manufacturing methods were trialled
for assembling the sensors in order to discover which methods were the quickest, easiest and
produced the most robust finished product. Further tests were done on how the position of the
sensors and placing material in between the sensors and the magnets affected their outputs. It
is found that in suitable conditions, the sensors produce the expected output. This report
concludes by making recommendations for future improvements.


Contents
1. Design Considerations ........................................................................................................ 7
Sensing Devices .................................................................................................................... 11
2. Concept Design ................................................................................................................. 17
Constraints and Specification ............................................................................................... 17
3. Results & Discussion ........................................................................................................ 24
4. Conclusions & Future Work .............................................................................................. 26
5. Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... 27
6. References ......................................................................................................................... 27
7. Appendices ........................................................................................................................ 29


1. Introduction
Formula SAE (FSAE) is a student design competition organised by SAE International
involving over 450 teams competing at different events around the world.
FSAE is based around a concept of a fictional manufacturing company that has contracted a
motorsport design team to develop a small Formula-style race car targeted at the non-
professional weekend autocross racer. The prototype race car is to be evaluated for its
potential as a production item. There are a series of rules which each student team must
adhere to when designing, building and testing a prototype. The purpose of the rules is both to
ensure on-site event operations and promote clever problem solving (SAE International 2011).

Since 2001 UWAM has been competing in FSAE events with great success and as recently as
2010 were at the top of the world rankings (FSWorld 2011). To be successful UWAM has had
to perform well in all competition events including statics events such as design and cost and
dynamic events such as acceleration and endurance. Part of this success can be attributed
UWAMs unique suspension system. UWAMs recent cars are the only FSAE cars in the
world that uses carbon fibre flexures and an H2 - Kinetic suspension system. Dampers,
commonly called shock absorbers, are of the most critical components on a modern race car
(Haney, 1996). The parts of this suspension system that this report and the rotary damper
positions sensors are concerned with, are the torsion bars and their rotation. When a wheel
moves its motion is translated via a pull rod to pull rod arm, rotating a torsion bar, which
rotates the rocker damper arm, which then displaces the dampers cylinder shaft. This is
illustrated in Figure 1.


Figure 1: Damper rocker and pull rod arrangement of 2008 vehicle rear. (Davies 2009)
The damper positions need to be known to observe part of the vehicles behaviour in dynamic
race conditions and to aid the vehicle dynamics team in configuring the best suspension
settings. Adjustable dampers are the simplest and quickest suspension tuning device, allowing
the race-car engineer to optimize vehicle handling and response for varying track conditions
and to compensate for component wear (Dixon 1999).To achieve the optimal configuration,
team members need to interpret reliable and accurate data from the car's array of sensors.

A common way to measure damper position is to use linear potentiometers or transducers
which are usually mounted in parallel with the shock piston rod. UWAM formally used the
Penny and Giles SLS095/75/3K/R/66 linear position sensors. These sensors and many others
were a part of a data acquisition system that included a Motec Advanced Dash Logger
(ADL2) for storing and displaying the sensor data, a Motec M800 Engine Control Unit (ECU)
and a custom Power Distribution Board (PDP). The data logged in the ADL can be viewed
live via the telemetry system or downloaded to a computer after the race or test session. It is
from analysing this data, the vehicle dynamics team can decide what changes need to be made
to the cars suspension. Figure 2 shows a sample of the data collected from the car during the
endurance event of Formula Student Germany. The data is sampled at 102.4Hz. This could be
more but the ADL only has 8MB of memory and a whole 40 lap endurance race has to be
recorded. For shorter events such as autocross or tests such as shock valving the sampling
rate can be increased to many hundred Hz or whatever sampling rate is required for a much
higher degree of accuracy.

Figure 2: Damper Position and Steering Angle data
The Penny and Giles sensors are marketed as being suitable for motorsport applications;
however they are not necessarily ideal for a student built open wheel FSAE race car. For
UWAM cars from 2006 onwards, the dampers have been fitted underneath the car. Although
this is beneficial in terms of lowering the centre of mass it is not an ideal position for the
sensors. Because they are attached in parallel to the dampers underneath the car, they are very
vulnerable to road debris. It was also found that the many services and adjustments made to
the car were damaging the sensors as well. In Figure 2 it can be observed that the rear left
damper position has ceased functioning. During a service of the car the piston rod was bent.
This happened on more than one occasion and to more than one sensor. This is evident in
Figure 3. Also note that the end of one of the shafts had to be welded back on after it snapped
off. At a price of around $315 each, these sensors are not what the team wants to spend its
budget on very often.

Figure 3: P&G Linear Damper Position Sensors
A cost of $315 each and a lack of durability are the main reasons to consider a different
approach to sensing damper position. A custom sensor could potentially be designed to fit in
(amongst around) the many other custom made parts on the car much better than any
commercial product. The potential savings become apparent when browsing the costs of
electronic components and of basic manufacturing operations. It is beneficial to UWAM to
use custom designed systems for more than just cost and reliability reasons, as they can earn
competition points in the Engineering Design Event.

Due to cost and the potential for more design points a decision was made to use customised
damper positions on the 2010/11 car. Durability issues of the former linear sensors lead to the
decision pursue a rotary sensing option. Therefore the 2010/11 car was not designed with
features to accommodate parallel linear sensors.

2. Design Considerations
There are 3 main areas to consider when embarking on designing a new position sensor
including the measurement system, the contact/ observer option, the location and the
attachment.
The following aspects should be considered for all areas
Linearity: a change in the mechanical movement is ideally exactly proportional to the
rate of change in the electrical output throughout the range of motion. Derivation from
this is defined as the linearity. In some cases an equation can be applied to the output
to minimise linearity error.

Durability: qualities to survive the rough treatment of a motorsport environment and
repeated use overtime.

Firstly, consider what motion of what part of the suspension linkage should be measured and
how the sensor will observe the motion.
The dampers, rockers and torsion bars could be used to measure the damper position.
The sensor can have a moving part that moves with and is in contact with the
suspension component. Or if using the appropriate technology, the sensor can measure
the movement of the part without being in contact.

Secondly and closely related to the first component, consider where the sensor can be fitted
and how will it be attached. The sensor should be placed where it
is not vulnerable to road debris
does not interfere or obstruct other parts of the car unnecessarily
does not interfere with or prevent servicing of another part

Thirdly, consider the technologies available that, convert a mechanical movement into an
electrical signal that has the desired:
Resolution: so enough detail of the motion is captured
Accuracy: so the same position gives the same electrical output every time.
Resistance: to noise and interference

With the above components in mind, investigations of different combinations of the possible
locations and measurement systems should be conducted in order to decide upon the best
design strategy. Since the design objective was to envisage a measurement system different to,
and an improvement on any past systems, combinations incorporating linear sensors in line
with dampers can be neglected.

Conceptual Approaches

String (Cable) Type Position Sensor.
Where conventional sensors can be difficult to install, the String Type position can often be a
solution. For example it may be wrapped around rotating object such as a twist throttle, or in
this case a torsion bar. The other end of the small wire is connected to a spring-loaded sensor

inside of which, it is coiled around a rotary sensor such as a potentiometer. This sensor is not
recommended for suspension travel because it is only accurate when the string is in tension. If
the part in motion moves the other way there will be slack in the string producing incorrect
outputs

Belt and Pulley type.
This implementation can use any type of rotary position sensors in combination with a belt and
pulley, it can be mounted anywhere in line with torsion bar. For example, in Figure 4 it is
installed next to a steering shaft so an O-ring drive belt can rotate the sensor as the drive shaft
rotates. This particular example cost around $120. This or a custom version of it may be a
feasible solution, although if the belt slips or stretches, errors may be introduced. Another
reason the belt and pulley type is not a first choice is because it lacks the durable qualities
required. The belt could easily become damaged when changing a torsion bar or become loose
during a track day. It is also difficult to position the sensor without interfering with the
aerodynamic floor at the rear.

Figure 4: Steering angle sensor (Advantage Motorsports 2009)
Rotary sensor with rotating arm.
This setup can be neatly packaged on top of the torsion bar bearing holder on the rear engine
sub frame. The rotating arm can then be attached to either the pull rod or the rocker damper
arm. However the linkage operating a rotary sensor introduces non-linearity into the damper
position measurement. This can be factored into the sensor calibration, considered when
creating math channels from the raw data. However it is a contact option and is prone to wear
in the long run.

Figure 5: Rotary sensor with lever arm linked to rocker arm (Hakewill 2005)

Rotary Position Sensor positioned on the end of the torsion bar.
This configuration can be a contact or non-contact implementation. If in contact the
measurement system could be of any type. The sensor could have a rotating shaft collinear
with the torsion bar that fits into the double hex pattern. For a non-contact configuration
which may be preferable as it does not require its own moving part. The measurement
systems for a non-contact configuration are optical or magnetic which require either an optical
encoder disc or magnets to be glued to the torsion bar. Figure 6 illustrates an example of a
magnetic sensor. As the encoder discs and magnets may not be in the same position when a
torsion bar is substituted the sensors will have to zeroed each time this occurs.

Figure 6: Sensing Angle from shaft with magnet (Honeywell 2010)


Sensing Devices
Some common types of sensing devices are: Potentiometers, Rotary Variable Differential
Transformers (RVDTs), Magnetic (Hall Effect), Inductive Transducers and Optical Encoders.
Before embarking on comparison of the specifics of each, a brief review of commercially
available systems was completed to see prices and what configurations would be most suited
to an FSAE race-car. Part of this review has been tabulated in the appendices.

Figure 7: Simple illustrations of Measurement systems (Fernsteuergeraete 2006)
RVDTs can be ruled out immediately as they require an alternate current (AC) power supply,
which is not available from the ADL or any other parts of the DAQ or power distribution
system. An AC power supply could be introduced to the car PDB but that would introduce
unnecessary complexity to the car wiring system.

Optical
Optical sensors are not ideal because they rely on the number of markings made in the object
it is viewing. For example the wheel speed sensors are a type of optical tachometer and have a
resolution of 100 pulses per revolution of the wheel. This is because there are 100 slots cut in
a disc inside the upright which each pulse the optical sensor when they pass between the
sensors emitting and sensing components. This is not practical for damper position sensing as
a much greater resolution per degree is required. A more practical variation utilises an encoder
disc which has multiple tracks and patterns that are digitally scanned. An example of this is
shown in Figure 8. Other optical methods such as incorporating a distance measurement are
impractical as they require a line of sight, which may not be possible and will more than
likely end up blocked by debris during use or servicing.

Figure 8: Optical encoder (Fernsteuergeraete 2006)

Potentiometric System
Potentiometers are cheap and widely used as a means for measuring rotational positions. In
the past they were readily implemented in many applications, with many in the automotive
environment position. For example throttle valves, pedal position, valve position etc.
The main advantages of potentiometers include their
Ease of implementation
Low price (Depends on packaging and rated accuracy)
Analogue output, no signal processing needed
Potential to easily add additional channels to increase reliability
The main disadvantages of potentiometers include
High wear & failure rates because it is a contact sensor
Non-linearitys occurring later in lifecycle due to uneven wear
No digital coding possible
Bad signal-to-noise ratio
Potentiometers may be the cheapest measurement devices but, ability their ability to cope in a
motorsport environment means they must be the higher quality potentiometers. Commercial
systems are designed be more rugged and to have much greater accuracy, this increases the
price for the package to over $100. Although a potentiometer may be positioned in a safer
area not under the car, it is not much of an improvement in terms of durability or accuracy.

Inductive Systems

Using an inductive principle is one way of measuring a rotational position in a contactless
way. Transmit coils send a signal, which is coupled back through a rotor into receiver coils.
These coils are typically integrated on a simple printed circuit board (PCB) and an IC is used
to both generate the excitation signal and decode the received signal.
The main advantages of inductive systems are
A flexible output which can be both analogue and digital
That redundancy can be achieved by integrating a second setup with a separate
decoding IC on the same PCB
Its low cost and robustness.
The main disadvantages of inductive systems include
The entire sensor design is rather large and can't be further minimised.
Being susceptible to electromagnetic interference and the high temperatures
If designed to cope with the motorsport environment can be quite expensive.

Figure 9: Potentiometer or Inductor (Fernsteuergeraete 2006)

Magnetic Systems
Hall-effect based magnetic sensors, have become considerably popular in the general trend
towards contactless technologies ((Fernsteuergeraete 2006).The magnetic field generated by
the permanent magnet is scanned by the sensor and the magnetic value is allocated to an
unambiguous, absolute angle position (Camille Bauer 2011).
The main advantages of inductive systems are:

Non-contacting sensor principle
No wear, highly reliable
Digital outputs & coding possible
Advanced protocols allow error detection
Excellent signal to noise ratio
Redundancy possible
Wire breakage, short circuit detection
The main disadvantages of the magnetic systems are the following
Magnetic circuit needed
Sensor needs to compensate temperature
Stress affects sensor performance

Figure 10: Magnetic sensor (Fernsteuergeraete 2006)
Table 1: Electromechanical sensor comparison
Potentiomet
er
Inductive Magnetic RVDT Optical
Reliability Contacting
principle,
Prone to wear
Contactless,
good
Contactless,
good

Contactless,
good

Contactless,
good

Cost Low Medium Higher-as a
package.
Low as a
Higher-as a
package.
Low as a
Medium

component. component.
Size Large Large Medium small small
Interfacing Analogue
only
Digital I/F
possible
Analogue &
Digital
available
Simple
control
electronics
Analogue &
Digital
available
Linearity Very good Very good Good Very good Good
Temperature
Drift
Negligible Negligible Can be
compensated
Negligible Can be
compensated
Noise Poor Medium Good Good Good
Resolution Infinite Infinite Good Virtually
infinite
Depends on
encoder disc
Error
detection
None Can be
incorporated

Various safety
features
implemented
None None
Redundancy Additional
tracks,
but parallel
wear
Additional
tracks &
IC possible

Easy to
assemble two
redundant
sensors
Can be
designed
with two
laminations

Sensing device specifications
To find the maximum range of motion to ensure the sensor can measure anywhere in
the full range. As the car is not assembled at this stage, a full range motion analysis
was completed on the car. This was done in OptimumK a kinematics design and
simulation software package and is detailed in the appendix.
Ensure that there is minimal ferromagnetic material near the magnet, otherwise most
of the field lines will flow in the material, substantially weakening the field near the
sensor. Most of the surrounding metals are some form of steel so the field loss may be
manageable. A non-ferrous spacer between the magnet and the torsion bar may
necessary to ensure there are adequate field lines near then sensor. Example of how
different materials can affect the field lines is in appendix The torsion bars are
normalized 4140 alloy, and quenched and tempered 4140 steel
Input requirements: The current loom can provide 5, 8 or 12 volts supply. 5V is
preferred as the previous sensors were 5V and the current loom has been
manufactured to support 5V damper position sensors, to simplify the new sensor

integration
Output requirements: The ADL can accept digital inputs in limited and specific
formats and analogue inputs from 0V to 15V.

Upon reviewing all the possibilities the decision was made to use a magnetic sensor
positioned at the end of the torsion bar in a non-contact configuration for the following
reasons:
There are magnetic sensors available with more than adequate resolution. The
sampling rate will affect the accuracy before the resolution
Magnets are cheap and easy to glue on the torsion bar in a position that wont affect
the accuracy. Optical encoder discs tend to only be internal parts of commercial
sensors. If choosing optical, a custom encoder disc would have to be designed and
manufactured extremely accurately. Then the electronics of the sensor would have to
be programmed.
Many magnetic sensors are sold pre-programmed to calculate angle from magnetic
fields.
A non-contact configuration in this case has fewer parts, no moving parts and would
require fewer modifications to other parts.
UWAM has experience with magnetic sensors in rotary applications. The KMA199E
programmable magnetic angle sensor has been used before to calculate steering angle.

These are some relevant comments from past and present UWAM members that illustrate
the importance of dampers quite well.
Given that 60 to 70% of the vehicles roll stiffness comes from the H2 Kinetic system and
this roll stiffness is reacted through the dampers, the damper motion has a significant effect
on the vehicles roll moment distribution. (Davies, 2009)
Therefore the Roll Moment Distribution (RMD) which describes the distribution of roll
stiffness between the front and rear wheel pairs, is an important parameter in determining
the response of a vehicle to lateral forces. (Davies, 2009)
The sensitivity of UWAM vehicles to RMD is demonstrated by past suspension tuning days
where changes of less than 1% create changes noticeable to the driver and data acquisition
(Marsh 2009).
The RMD of a vehicle can also be extrapolated from onboard data acquisition. For a known
torsional stiffness and lateral force, the difference in roll angle between the front and rear

axle will yield the vehicles RMD (Segers 2008). Currently, the only method on UWAM
vehicles to measure roll angle is linear potentiometers, which measure damper
displacement. However, the unreliable and noisy nature of these devices combined with the
highly non-linear motion ratio make these measurements inaccurate.

3. Concept Design

Constraints and Specification
Once a sensor option has been decided upon, designing around it can begin. Firstly a strong
housing needs to protect the sensor from dust, fluids or any other harmful material. Secondly
attachment need to be designed to hold the housing in the best position for the sensor. These
attachments must also handle the shock and vibration that can be expected in a motorsport
environment. Two different attachment designs are need as the suspension parts around the
torsion bar are different at the front compared to the rear. A connector must also be chosen but
can be chosen independently of the housing/attachment designs as it can be attached at the
end of the sensor wires.

Determining the best position for the sensor.

Proximity.
From the information on data sheets of the sensor and the magnet, the maximum allowable
distance between sensor and magnet can be calculated.

Figure 11:KMA199E Programmable angle
sensor (NXP Semiconductors 2007)

Figure 12:Neodymium Iron Boron (NdFeB)
Nickel plated (Assemtech 2002)

Figure 13: Equations variables used to calculate
field strength (Integrated Magnetics 2011)

The magnetic angle sensors minimum operating external magnetic field strength = 35 kA/m
(NXP Semiconductors 2007)

The NdFeB magnet is graded as N35H
Grade N35H magnets often have Residual Induction B
r
of = 12300 Gauss
1 gauss =
10
3
4n
A/m = 79.58 A/m

Field B
x
at distance X above a disc magnet with radius R and thickness L is given by

B
x
=
B
2
_
(I +X)
R
2
+(I +X)
2
-
X
R
2
+R
2
_
Due to the magnets being glued to steel torsion bar L can be approximated to 2L
Adding in that there are 2 magnets glued to each side of the torsion bar. (Integrated Magnetics
2011)


Figure 14: Field strength as distance increased from magnet

As seen in Figure 14 , the sensor could be up to 5 mm from the magnet before the field
strength is too small. It is possible to place a sensor within 5mm of the torsion bar but an extra
magnet can be used to ensure the sensor is always comfortably within operating range of the
magnets. A useful capability of the 199E is if the applied magnetic field strength is not
sufficient, the KMA199E raises a diagnostic condition which can be left in a default state or a
user can program it to have an active diagnostic mode. Movements that cause the sensor to
misalign with the centre of rotation can also affect the accuracy of the reading.
To reduce the amount of sensor deviation from the centre of rotation, the mounting system
must be fairly rigid. The revolve cut on the rocker boss can be used to guide the sensor into
the correct position initially and also keep the sensor centred during race conditions.

The review of commercially available sensors gave a good indication of the mechanical
standards motorsport sensors were constructed to. For example, the top of the range P&G
rotary potentiometers were manufactured to the following standards:
Sealing to IP68 (No ingress of dust; complete protection against contact and suitable
for continuous immersion in water beyond 1 m)
Operational temperature -40C to +130 C (continuous)
RTCA-DO160D (Environmental Conditions and Test Procedures for Airborne
Equipment): 10Hz to 2000Hz (random), 12.61g rms - all axes
Survival to 2500g - all axes
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
0
.
0
0
1
0
.
0
0
6
0
.
0
1
1
0
.
0
1
6
0
.
0
2
1
0
.
0
2
6
0
.
0
3
1
0
.
0
3
6
0
.
0
4
1
0
.
0
4
6
0
.
0
5
1
0
.
0
5
6
0
.
0
6
1
0
.
0
6
6
0
.
0
7
1
0
.
0
7
6
k
A
/
m
Distance (mm)
Field Strength
Field Strength
Minimum
Magnetic
Field Strength

Some of the more expensive sensors have titanium housings. Most of the sensors designed for
harsh operating environments also conform to some sort of electrical standards as well, to
shield the inner circuitry and components. For example, the standards set by the International
Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) to address Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) issues.
KMA199E adheres to all the standards required to achieve EMC (NXP Semiconductors
2007). The next part of the concept development is to design a housing around the KMA199E
that can conform to most if not of the standards of many of the commercial products.

Housing Design
It was noted in the commercial sensor review that the majority of sensors had hard and
durable moulded plastic, steel, aluminium, a combination of metals and plastics and for a
limited few, titanium casings. Designing a motorsport sensor to an aircraft standard may seem
unnecessary, but the IP68 standard is something that should be aimed for. If water or dirt got
into and around the electronic components they could easily be damaged. The housing shall
be designed to keep out all dust and fluids.

The housing needs to contain the KMA199E and LED to indicate whether or not the sensor is
on. The LED is a useful indicator for team members who are trouble shooting or debugging a
part of the electrical system. The housing also needs to contain the wires soldered to the
sensor legs and at least one loop of wire inside the housing for strain relief purposes. An
effective way of sealing a sensor from the environment is potting, to completely fill the
housing and submersing its contents with araldite. This has been demonstrated successfully
many times with the wheel speed sensors. One down side is if a mistake is made with
anything in the glue. The glue has to be hacked at and scrubbed with solvents before the
contents can be removed. The contents are often destroyed in this process.


Figure 15: The Aluminium Housing

Figure 16: The first prototype housings

Figure 17: The first semi potted prototypes with deutsch connector
To get a small, round and dimensionally accurate housing, the use of a lathe was the most
convenient and quickest option. UWAM has had great success with small aluminium pieces
made on the lathe. For example the wheel speed sensors. In addition many of the UWAM
team members have been trained to operate and have access to a lathe during the day. The
design for the housing is quite straight forward as seen in Figure 15 a round section has been
formed to fit the KMA199E, LED and wires. A hole was left in the centre so the KMA199E
has line of sight of the magnets. This hole could be covered or not drilled though at all if
tests show that the sensor can still get accurate measurements with materials covering it.

Figure 18: Section with sensor inside

The next challenge was to design the lid or attachment between the bracket and the housing.
The design gets more complicated when considering the attachment the housing design is the
same for all corners of the car. But the attachment arms need to be different. Access to the
torsion bar set up is different from front to back. When changing a torsion bar at the rear the
DPS needs to be removed. At the rear the sensors have to be easy to remove and the bracket
arm need well clear of the slide hammer used to remove the torsion bar. The first design
involved a lid and another piece that cupped the whole housing while being bolted on to the
support arm. Since then the lid has merged with the attachment piece.

Figure 19: Attachment/Lid
The next challenge was the arm from a fixed point on the car. In addition to the rear arms
being different from the front, they were also different from each other. Initially an attempt

was made to have a single cut out of sheet metal and bend it differently depending on which
side of the car the sheet was meant to be on. However interference with the rocker arm
hampered this attempt, so and a different longer design was used instead. The arms were
originally designed as 0.9mm mild steel as that was previously the thinnest sheet that could be
welded. Since then the minimum thickness for welding has been reduced to 0.6mm which is
excellent for weight saving. For the entire sensor configuration to be up to standard it must
withstand 20g.

Figure 20: Rear Left Arm Sheet Metal
Figure 21: Rear Right Arm Sheet Metal

Figure 22: Rear Left DPS Assembly


For the front DPS, welding was not required because there was space to drill at the front
attachment points. The arms can be bolted on the front suspension rocker mounts instead. This
meant that the arm did not have to be separated from the housing if the front DPS ever had to
be taken off making the attachment piece redundant. Following this the front arms were
extended and became the lids of the front DPS housings as well. There is only one cut-out
pattern because the front suspension is symmetrical to allow a cut out to be folded the
opposite way to fit on the other side.

Figure 23: Front Arm cut-out

Figure 24Front DPS assembly

4. Results & Discussion
What can be tested at this moment in time is the theory of the developed sensor package.
Various simulations could be run more thoroughly to see exactly what kind of effect different
variations in the system causes changes in the linearity or accuracy of the system of the
system.
Minor tests were done on the effect of changing material between the sensor and the magnet.
There was a negligible difference in output for most materials substitutions except
ferromagnetic materials and of course other magnets. The changes in linearity or accuracy
would have been less noticeable than errors from the equipment. Also rigidity of the set up
was not ideal. One of the sensors did produce results however the measurements were not as
reliable as they have been in the past. It is suspected that after potting the sensor may have

been in contact with the wall while the glue was drying. It is clear that the KMA 199E can
still get a measurement however the fault more than likely stems from the drying housing
being knocked while still drying.

Figure 25: Side view of test rig

Figure 26:Test rig with voltmeter showing
erroneous readings

Other minor computer aided test where completed to assist in describing the magnetic field
lines in different situations. And the calculation used previously contributed a lot to
understanding well.

Figure 27:Magnet on top of thick steel sheet
Figure 28Magnet on a thin sheet of steel

Tests and verifications to be done in the future
Simulation 1:
Simulate the changes in material while the torsion bar is in motion. Test more thoroughly
once a measurement of the angle has been taken the sensor voltage output must be converted
to its equivalent angle and then to its equivalent damper displacement. This can be done in the
data logger itself by setting up an equation for each of the damper position inputs.
Simulation 2:
A thorough study of the how the DPS cope under extreme forces. This was touched on in
solid works simulation but not completely conclusive.
5. Conclusions & Future Work
Due to the fact that the car is not currently assembled, testing in the motorsport environment
or testing on any part of the car has not been possible during the completion of this project.
What has been done so far is develop a unique suspension measurement system ready to test
on UWAMs race-car that the only suspension system of its kind in the entire global FSAE
competition suspension system. What has been achieved is a set of parts ready to put on the
soon to be assembled car for some thorough testing


6. Acknowledgements
Thanks to the following people for their advice and support, without which this project would
have been much more difficult:
Members of the 2010 and 2011 UWAM team, particularly:
Matt Day, for sharing his knowledge of the UWAM 2010 vehicle dynamics and
OptimumK.
Ben Colley for assisting with the housing manufacture
Pete Marsh for assisting with the attachment manufacture and making suggestions for
future improvements.
Matt Schrader for some helpful rewording suggestions.

7. References

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<http://www.advantagemotorsports.com/Sensors.htm>. [8 October 2011].

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<http://www.farnell.com/datasheets/40538.pdf>. [10 October 2011].

Bansal, G 2009, Commissioning of a Dynamometer Facility for the Calibration of FSAE
Dampers, Final Year Mechanical Engineering Dissertation, The University of Western
Australia, Perth

Camille Bauer 2011, Angular Position Engineering, Camille Bauer AG, Available from:
< http://www.camillebauer.com/>. [9 October 2011]

Davies, B 2009, Implementation of Composite Flexures for an FSAE Vehicle, Bachelor of
Engineering Final Year Project Thesis, The University of Western Australia, Perth

Dixon, JC 1999, The Shock absorber Handbook, Society of Automotive Engineers,
Warrendale, USA.

Fernsteuergeraete 2006, Angular Position Transducers, FSG, Available from:
<http://www.fernsteuergeraete.de/images/stories/doc/angular_position_transducers_10-
2006.pdf>. [1 November 2011]

FSWorld, Formula Student World: Ranking List. Available from: <http://www.fs-
world.org/index.php?id=505 >. [29 September 2011].

Guzzomi, FG 2004, Modification, Testing and Analysis of Formula-SAE Dampers, Bachelor
of Engineering Honours Thesis, The University of Western Australia, Perth

Hakewill, J 2005, Suspension Position Measurement, Available from:
<http://jameshakewill.com/sus-pos-v1.pdf>. [1 September 2011].


Haney, P. 1996, A Comparison of Modern Racing Dampers, SAE technical paper No. 962545,
Society of Automotive Engineers, Warrendale USA

Honeywell 2010, Applications of Magnetic Position Sensors, Available from:
<http://www51.honeywell.com/aero/common/documents/Applications-of-Magnetic-Position-
Sensors.pdf>. [20 October 2011].

Integrated Magnetics 2011, Magnetics 101, Available from:
<http://www.intemag.com/magnetics_101.html#measurement>. [15 September 2011].

K&J Magnetics, The K&J Plate Thickness Calculator, Available from:
<http://www.kjmagnetics.com/thickness.calculator.asp>. [15 September 2011].

Manchester Metropolitan University 2002, Magnetic Units Table, Available from:
<http://www.sste.mmu.ac.uk/users/shoon/pers_page/envmagn_tables_anal/Mag-Units-Tables-
New.pdf>. [5 September 2011].

Milliken, DL, Milliken, WF 1995, Race Car Vehicle Dynamics, Society of Automotive
Engineers Inc, Warrendale U.S.A, ISBN 1-56091-526-9

NXP Semiconductors 2007, KMA199E Datasheet. Available from:
<http://www.nxp.com/documents/data_sheet/KMA199E.pdf >. [31 September 2011].

Penny and Giles, Motorsport-applications Datasheet. Available from:
<http://www.pennyandgiles.com/RVDTs-for-Industrial-&-Motorsport-applications-pd-
93,3,29,.php >. [31/08/2011].

Ramsden, E 2006. Hall-effect sensors: theory and applications, Elsevier. Oxford U.K.
ISBN 0-7506-7934-4.

Rouelle, C 2010, 'Applied Vehicle Dynamics to Race Car Design and Development Seminar',
in
Consulting and Vehicle Dynamics Simulation, Melbourne, Australia.

Rouelle, C 2009, 'Vehicle Dynamics Race Car Engineering and Data Acquisition Seminar', in
Consulting and Vehicle Dynamics Simulation, Melbourne, Australia.

SAE International, About Formula SAE. Available from:
<hhttp://students.sae.org/competitions/formulaseries/about.htm >. [5/10/2011].

Smith C 1978, Tune to Win, Aero Publishers Inc, Fallbrook U.S.A, ISBN 0-87938-071-3

Smith C 1984, Engineer to Win, MBI Publishing Co, Osceola U.S.A, ISBN 0-87938-186-8


8. Appendices

Table 2: Comparison of commercial products
Part Name Type Cost Resolution Linearity Accuracy
Variohm
Euro-X range
Hall Effect $319 12-bit +/- 0.3%
360 Blade
Rotary Sensor

Inductive 10-bit +/- 0.5%
Penny &
Giles
Potentiometer $312 infinite +/- 1%
Bosche Rp
360-H
Potentiometer $516 0.025 % of
measurement
range

Kinematic analysis
The chassis started from 42mm above ride height and the heave finished at -35mm from ride
height.
Heave Motion Chassis Start Position (42mm from ride height) (rear view)

Heave Motion Chassis End Position (-35mm from ride height)

Torsion Bar Rotation in Heave


Damper Displacement in Heave


Figure 29 Basic Magnetic field calculation

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Design and Manufacture of Rotary Damper Position

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